Kevin Devine, cop fired in Denver Diner case: Read his angry, error-filled resignation letter

Denver police officers Ricky Nixon and Kevin Devine, fired for their actions in the 2009 Denver Diner case, aren't going quietly. Nixon filed a lawsuit against the city prior to his dismissal, claiming that forcing him to give up his gun and work the radar unit violated his civil rights...

By Michael Roberts

October 8, 2013

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Denver police officers Ricky Nixon and Kevin Devine, fired for their actions in the 2009 Denver Diner case, aren't going quietly. Nixon filed a lawsuit against the city prior to his dismissal, claiming that forcing him to give up his gun and work the radar unit violated his civil rights. And Devine wrote a resignation letter that was apparently sent just prior to his sacking, blistering the DPD as "vinidictive and self-center" -- two of many spelling and grammatical errors evident in the text. Read the entire document and get details below. Our previous reporting notes that in July 2009, Kelly Boren, Sharelle Thomas, Ana Ortega and Kristal Carrillo were at the restaurant when they say Denver police officers Nixon and Devine menaced them with nightsticks, pulled or shoved a number of them to the ground and sprayed them with mace despite no compelling evidence of actual wrongdoing caught on video by a nearby HALO camera.

Although DPD investigations cleared Nixon and Devine of wrongdoing, they were subsequently fired, only to be reinstated by the Civil Service Commission. Finally, however, a court ruling upheld their dismissals, after which their positions were terminated within days of Boren, Thomas, Ortega and Carrillo receiving a $360,000 settlement in the matter.

By that point, Devine was fed up with the DPD, as evidenced by the aforementioned letter, sent to Police Chief Robert White and first obtained by CBS4's Brian Maass. The document doesn't show many signs of proofreading, as it misspells the name of Deputy Chief David Quinones, among other things. It begins like so:

"I cannot in good conscious [sic] continue to work for a Department that allows its senior chain of command to be so vinidictive [sic] and self -center [sic] as to use its officers as political stepping- stone for advancement. I find Deputy Chief Quinnoes's [sic] actions on this matter most disgraceful. How was he able to determine facts that others did not still amazes me."

Here's the complete letter.

Kevin Devine Letter to Denver Police Department

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

Contact: Michael Roberts

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